


Guiding Light

by katebishoop



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Keith (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Mind Control, POV Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 21:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13843755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katebishoop/pseuds/katebishoop
Summary: When Keith was the only one who had yet to arrive at their rendezvous point, Shiro knew something was wrong.Keith was never last. Slav would go on about how, statistically, it is not only possible but probable that Keith would be last in whatever percent of realities. But his science would be wrong. Keith’s always been an anomaly, an exception to the rule.





	Guiding Light

When Keith was the only one who had yet to arrive at their rendezvous point, Shiro knew something was wrong.

Keith was never last. Slav would go on about how, statistically, it is not only possible but probable that Keith would be last in whatever percent of realities. But his science would be wrong. Keith’s always been an anomaly, an exception to the rule. 

“Keith, come in.” No response. “Keith - do you copy.”

Shit.

_ Shit shit shit shit- _

“Pidge, can you get a lock on Keith’s location?”

Pidge tapped away at her wrist computer. “There’s too much interference. I can’t even get a read on any of you, and you’re all right here.”

“Wait, Pidge.” Hunk perked up. “Can you scan for luxite? That’s not something that can be jammed-”

“Yeah, no I can.” Pidge inputted something on her computer. “But it’ll only tell us if we’re getting hot or cold.”

A beacon appeared on the screen. Pidge walked backward about ten feet, then forwards.

“Okay. Seems we should head that way.” Pidge pointed behind her. “What’s the plan, Shiro?”

They needed to get out. They had to get the intel out. They were still deep in the Galra compound, short a team member, and they should never have split up in the first place.

“We’re sticking together.” Shiro said. “Lance, take point with Pidge. Hunk, bring up the rear. Let’s move out.”

* * *

Every beep of Pidge's tracker made Shiro's heart jump. The bad feeling kept gnawing at him the more they walked. It felt like hours but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

"Have we been walking in circles?" Lance asked, and Shiro is actually grateful for it. He didn't want to voice the frustration in him, the frustration that wanted to rip out his white fringe right out of his head.

"This thing doesn't tell me if he's above or below us." Pidge huffed. "Just that we're getting close-"

Pidge froze as she rounded the corner.

The hallway was full of carnage. Destroyed sentry bots, a few dead Galra...

And Keith's paladin helmet, cracked and in a pool of blood. 

"What the quiznak did Mullet get himself in to this time?" Lance muttered, but there was concern clear his voice. 

"Keep moving." Shiro said, keeping his voice even. Keith's helmet looked so small in Hunk's hands. "We need to hurry."

They followed the trail of wreckage, and when that ran out, they followed the trail of blood. Pidge's tracker was beeping wildly now, but not as erratic as Shiro's heart.

The trail of blood led them to a smear of blood on the wall.

_ Keith, arm bleeding, slamming against the wall, no longer to keep himself upright. Keith, sliding down the wall to the ground. Keith, the life draining from his eyes... _

"There." Pidge exclaimed, shaking Shiro out of his nightmare.

Up above them on the wall was an open vent, blood trickling down from it. Shiro turned to see a bloody footprint on the opposite wall.

"Quiznaking parkour ninja." Lance muttered.

"Pidge, can you see vent leads?" Shiro asked. 

Pidge brought up the sonar scan Lance had done in Blue earlier. "It could lead to one of three different places."

Shit, they had no idea which way. They shouldn't split up, but they'll waste time-

"Pidge." Shiro said, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "We'll need you to crawl through the vents and follow the trail. Is there a way we can track you through the walls?"

Pidge frowned. "The most I could do is to tell you my movements and  you try to follow them on the map, but it's going to be tricky."

"We don't have any better options, do we?" Hunk asked.

No. They really didn't.

Hunk and Shiro hoisted Pidge up. Hunk brought up the map on his so they could map Pidge's movements. 

Pidge made a gagging sound. Shiro could only imagine what it must have looked like up there.

* * *

After about what felt like a lifetime, Pidge finally said. "Okay, the path's veered off. There's only one place it can lead."

Hunk highlighted it on the map. They weren't too far from there, thank god.

"Pidge, be careful." Shiro said. "When you get to the end of the vent do not leave it until we are there too, okay?"

"Got it." Pidge said. Shiro knew they had to hurry, because if Keith was at the end of that tunnel and in danger, Shiro knew that just like he would, Pidge would run into the fire to help him.

They ran towards the beacon, and Shiro found it strange that they hadn't run into anymore soldiers or sentries. They had to be somewhere, and Shiro had a bad feeling of where they probably were.

"Guys, I think I can hear him." Pidge said. "He's fighting-"

"Stay where you are Pidge, we're almost there!"

A scream so loud that Shiro thought it was happening right there, but it was echoing through the vents on Pidge's mic.

Shiro charged, impossibly faster than before. The doors at the end of the hall felt like they were getting farther and farther away, but he had to just keep pushing, he had to reach Keith-

He could hear that scream again, this time from the other side of the doors-

The first thing Shiro registered was the color red.

Keith, a blur of red armor and blood, sliced the throat of the last remaining Galra with both his blade and his bayard.

_ “Keith!”  _ There he was, alive and fighting and-

Keith turned around, bracing for another attack, His face was bloody, from a gash on his forehead. His shoulder, the same one that got torn up during his trials, was steadily losing blood. Despite the sword in Keith’s hand, Shiro could tell that he was holding it at an odd angle. His left eye was swollen shut, completely caked in blood. And his other one was wild, and rabid-

“Keith, it’s us.” Shiro said, taking a small step forward. Keith took a defensive stance. “Keith, it’s me, Shiro…”

Keith shook with every breath. The adrenaline was probably overflowing inside him, pushing him to the edge. Shiro registered Pidge on the other side of the room, and gave her a subtle signal to stay put.

But Keith saw it though and spun around, weapons drawn. Pidge jumped back.

“Keith- Keith look at me.” Shiro said, intently, and Keith’s head snapped back towards him. Shiro could finally get a look into Keith’s eyes - glinting purple and blank in the light.

Shiro nodded gently. “It’s okay, Keith.” “Focus on my voice.” You can rest now.”

Keith shook, but he seemed to sag under Shiro’s words. 

Then Keith collapsed, Shiro only just catching him before he hit the floor.

* * *

Keith was in the pod for a bit over a quintant. He had more cuts than previously thought, some internal bleeding, and a hemorrhage around his eye - he’s lucky to still have that eye. It’s a miracle that he went as long fighting as he did. It’s a miracle that he’s even still alive.

But it’s not a miracle, it’s Keith. It’s always just Keith. 

So sure, Shiro’s worried about Keith’s injuries. He’s worried about how even after coming out of the pod Keith is sluggish and bruised, more subdued than usual. Not as adamant that he’s fine. He doesn’t argue when the team shepherds him into the lounge with a bowl of something warm and demanding an explanation as to how he ended up on the other side of the compound fighting off an army by himself.

“A druid.” Keith said slowly, taking a slow spoonful of the porridge-like substance Hunk whipped up. That explains why he’s still reeling. The healing pods don’t do much for magic, and Shiro remembers how he was after he came out of the pod after Haggar attacked him. “I remember fighting the druid, getting knocked into a wall, and then...

Keith held his bowl with both hands, sucking up as much of the heat as possible. Keith closed his eyes.

“It was like I was a passenger in my own body.” Keith said. “I could see and hear everything - but it was blurry, like I was underwater, or hearing it all from the next room.” Keith opened his eyes, but kept his gaze down on his bowl, on the steam emanating from it. “I could feel  _ everything,  _ but I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Shiro shuddered. He clenched his fist. That’s what it was like to be the Champion, to be a weapon for someone else’s war.

Shiro wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. 

“I just felt so  _ angry,  _ like I  _ needed  _ to fight.” Keith shuddered. “Like I needed to  _ kill _ .”

Coran stroked his mustache, eyes set downturn. “How were you able to break the hold?”

“I didn’t.” Keith said, and then he turned to Shiro. Keith’s gaze had always been intense, and it had always made Shiro go weak at the knees. “Shiro did.”

Everyone turned to Shiro, and he tried his best not to blush. “I-”

“You called out to me, and I followed.” Keith said, and took a sip of his porridge by bringing his mouth to the edge of the bowl. His eyes met Shiro’s again.

_ Just like you did out in the desert, when I found you. _

It took a lot of effort to keep himself from visibly reeling back. It was strange, sometimes, to have this person - a person that you could read like a book, that you know better than yourself. To him, his person was Keith.

“That was all you.” Shiro said, with a small smile that Keith didn’t return. 

Lance coughed through the tension that was in the air. “Okay, now Hunk, can the rest of us get food now? All this talk of mind control is getting me hungry…”

The others shuffled out, but Keith stayed on the couch. Shiro lagged behind the others, and once they were gone, Shiro turned around.

Privacy was one of his favorite things. Right behind Keith.

Shiro sat on the couch next to Keith and took the bowl from his hands and placed it on the couch. Then he put his arms around Keith and pulled him tightly to his chest.

“I’m sorry.” Shiro said. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“I’m fine now, Shiro.” Keith said, burrowing his face into Shiro’s chest. “You guided me out. I’m okay now.”

Of course his attempts at comforting Keith would end up with Keith comforting him. So many people saw Keith as the mess and Shiro as the stable one and, god, they were wrong.

Shiro kissed Keith’s hair. It smelled like Vick’s vapor rub due to him being in a pod. “Sleep in my room tonight?”

Keith hummed in approval. “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> A little drabble before season 5 airs in like, 4 hours!!!


End file.
